Being Pretty
by keeeks
Summary: A-lister Claire Lyons leaves Hollywood behind after a scandal and enrolls in the elite private school BOCD. And as soon as she arrives, alpha Massie Block can feel her kingdom crumbling beneath her feet. Because being pretty isn't as easy as it seems. AU.
1. Trailer

Disclaimer: I don't own the Clique.

**Claire Lyons was the girl that everybody wanted to be.**

_Claire struts out of a store in Los Angeles with tons of shopping bags, and is bombarded with snapshots from the paparazzi._

"_Claire! Over here!"_

"_Hey, Ms. Lyons!"_

"_Would you like to say a few words about your new movie?"_

**She was famous,**

_Claire doing multiple poses in front of tons of posters for her upcoming movie with her best friend, Abby Boyd._

**Pretty,**

_Claire zips up a dress in her walk-in closet, and blows a kiss to the mirror before exiting the closet._

**Taken,**

_Claire and Hollywood's biggest heartthrob, Jack Weston, walk down a busy LA sidewalk, holding hands._

**And rich.**

"_And they only paid me 1.2 mil! Isn't that in-sane?"_

_Abby widened her eyes in pure shock._

"_Oh Em Gee, that's crazy! That's, like, so little!"_

**But when Claire's life takes a turn for the worst**

_Claire's drinking at a wild party, and the police show up. Claire is fined for underage drinking. Then, pictures of newspapers' headlines covering the scandal flash across the screen._

**In more than 1 way,**

"_I think we should break up."_

"_You're cut from the movie."_

"_Claire Stacey Lyons, you're leaving Hollywood!"_

"_WHAT?!"_

**She gets sent to a normal school.**

"_We've decided on Briarwood Octavian Country Day."_

"_Where the hell is that?"  
_

_"Westchester, New York."_

"_NEW YORK? ARE YOU FUC- I MEAN, FLIPPING- KIDDING ME? CLAIRE LYONS DOES NOT DO THE EAST COAST!"_

**And the lives of everyone there  
**

"_Hi, I'm Claire." Claire stuck out her hand to shake.  
_

_"Hi, I know." Massie put her hands on her hips._

"_Gawd, no need to be a female dog on my first day here."_

**Get flipped upside down**

"_HOW COULD YOU?" She screeched with rage._

"_I didn't- I swear!" _

"_You swore to your dad that you were a virgin, didn't you?"_

"_But that was different!"_

**In ways they could never imagine.**

"_I can't believe you!"_

"_Well, you're not all that believable yourself!"_

**Starring Claire Lyons**

"_I'm going to take Block's gleaming throne from right under her perfect little nose."_

"_That's nice, sweetie."_

**Massie Block**

"_I'm the alpha here at BOCD. And no one- absolutely NO ONE- messes with Massie Block."_

**Cam Fisher**

"_Oh my fu-you-that-you-uh… I like your dress."_

**Derrick Harrington**

"_She's hot."  
_

_"Yeah- rating?" Cam rolled his eyes. He wasn't surprised that Derrick was so attracted to Claire._

"_10."_

"_Whoa, man. You gonna go for her?"_

"_Duh."_

**Josh Hotz**

"_She'll never find out," the mystery girl says.  
_

"_Good point." Josh smiles._

**And Nikki Dalton**

"_Is she seriously serious?" Nikki munched on popcorn, her eyes wide in disbelief._

"_This story gets juicier by the minute!"_

--

Because being pretty isn't as easy as it seems.

--

So, how was it? Good, bad, fabulous? Let me know- review.


	2. Princess of Bel Air? Not so much

ADisclaimer: I don't own the clique.

Thanks for all the awesome reviews- you guys rock! For the outcome of the story- some of you want Massie, and some of you want Claire, but I'll definitely make a sequel to this, so be prepared for an insane ending.

Also, a note— some of the quotes in the trailer will _not_ come into play. All of the Westchester quotes will, though.

--

Claire and Abby looked at each other with excited smiles before entering the beautiful house with their dates. And as far as they could tell, the party had already started, because different colored lights were flashing and they could hear the music playing inside. Abby and Claire had been best friends ever since they entered the Hollywood scene together as little kids. And they were immediately adored by the American public. They were two of the most successful girls in the business. Abby and Claire both had individual fashion lines, a joint line, and they were collaborating with Prada to create a handbag line for the upcoming fall.

Abby was tall, curvy and beautiful. She constantly changed her hair color, and right now, it was a sleek bob in a honey blonde. She had big brown eyes and was known for her signature false lashes (falsies). Claire, on the other hand, was thin, also tall, and she was equally gorgeous. Claire had natural platinum blonde hair that hit her cleavage in beachy waves. She had layered hair that framed her thin face, which was splattered with freckles. Claire had bright blue eyes and thick eyelashes, and together, Claire and Abby were referred to as "The Twenty," because they were both 10s and they were the hottest teens in Hollywood.

The girls strutted confidently to the beat of the current song, Feedback, as they entered the party.

_Crank it up, give it to me, come on_

_Crank it up, give it to me, come on_

_I'm gonna feedback feedback (oh) feedback feedback (oh)_

The song has such a sexual appeal that Claire could see the looks of lust that Jack, her boyfriend, was shooting at her. Jack was famous for his role on a TV sitcom and was loved by girls across the country. He had chocolate colored hair that fell into his army green eyes. He had a strong build, with a defined 6 pack. Claire loved him to death, and she thought he was the sexiest guy alive. Claire, Abby, Jack, and Luke, Abby's date, walked into the party, and they stopped to say hello to familiar friends.

"Miley! Nick! Finally a couple?" Claire smiled sweetly at the teen stars.

"Um…" Miley started.

"Well, if not, I am so setting you up with my brother. Toodles!"

Todd Lyons, who Claire once viewed as a little, freckly booger, now had his own TV show on Disney Channel. The paparazzi just lapped up the family's public appearances, where Todd, Claire, Judi, Claire and Todd's momager, and Jay, a big shot CEO, would go out to dinner and such. They loved the overall sweetness of the family, and they were anxiously awaiting the day where the classic All-American family would crash and burn.

2 hours into the party, Claire was wiping beads of sweat from her forehead, and then she smiled at Jack as they danced together. They were both totally wasted, but so what? Everyone was having a blast. Claire and Abby had arrived in sexy mini dresses, sky-high heels, and lots of makeup. The music was blaring, the punch was spiked, and the dance floor was filled with grinding young celebrities, models, and others of the sort. Claire felt her phone vibrating in the pocket of the dress. She whipped it out, and saw that it was a text from Abby.

**Abby- this party is awesome! Sux for Jackie, tho**

Claire's fingers scuttled across her sidekick's keypad as she sent Abby a reply.

**Claire- Yea I no **

**Abby- how goes jack?**

**Claire- not so good ******

**Abby- y?**

**Claire- I don't think he's getting the hint that I want to, u no…**

**Claire- he's too drunk**

**Abby- aren't we all**

**Claire- Lol **

**Abby- lol I g2g**

**Claire- y?**

**Abby- hottie wants to dance. Swear he's an aber model.**

**Claire- lucky! Jk I have jack anyways**

**Abby- ttyl bibi**

**Claire- kk bi**

Claire felt some sense of remorse for Jackie, the socialite who was hosting the party, for two reasons. First of all, Jackie was seriously drunk and she would have one hell of a hangover tomorrow. Second of all, her state-of-the-art Bel Air mansion was a total disaster, and her maid was _not_ going to clean up the trashed estate. It sucked, Claire thought. She loved Bel-Air- it was so beautiful. It was where Claire's very first mansion was purchased. As Claire surveyed the house, she shook her head. At this point, Jackie might as well have bought a new place. Lamps were smashed, couch cushions and pillows were ripped apart, and people were throwing up everywhere.

"Hey baby?" Claire questioned, running a manicured fingernail up Jack's chest.

"Yeah?" Jack was so, so drunk. He had downed about 6 cups of the punch, and it surprised Claire that he had not A) passed out or B) died of alcohol poisoning yet.

"Wanna do something else?" Claire whispered in his ear, using her "come-hither" voice that was supposed to make guys follow here every command. It wasn't working.

"I dunno…" Jack was dazed. Claire thought that for sure, he had been using LSD tonight, because he was acting so idiotic.

"Come on… let's go upstairs. We can have more… privacy." Claire winked seductively at him, and Jack was so out of it he didn't even catch the hint.

Suddenly, cop sirens began blaring, and people began to scream. Busted! The gaggle of teenage and twenty-something A-listers gathered at the party began to rush out the back door, jump out of the first floor windows, and tried to get out of the place as quickly as they could to avoid getting caught.

"Jack, let's go! Do you _want_ to get arrested?" Claire knew that he would get so busted for underage drinking, as would she. She felt her phone vibrate again, and she swiftly read the text. She was trying to get her boyfriend to leave, but he was too drunk to even understand what was happening. Jack refused to leave the party.

**Abby- where r u? Leave! **

Claire didn't have time to reply.

"Huh? Come on baby, one more dance. This is fun, right?" Claire sighed. She wanted to just ditch him, but she couldn't, being the amazing person that she was. It was also be horrible for her reputation if she was dating a drunk. The paparazzi would have a field day.

"No! We can't- we'll get caught!" As Claire tried to drag Jack out of the trashed mansion, the police came inside and pulled the two teens outside. One officer gave Claire a Breathalyzer test. She was over the legal limit after having 2 cups of the spiked punch. She was, according to the law, drunk.

Claire was taken to the LAPD station, where she was fingerprinted, fined, and arrested for underage drinking. She was forced to spend the night in an uncomfortable jail cell in a tacky jumpsuit that was horribly itchy.

The next day, Claire's mug shot was splashed across the front pages of newspapers, gossip magazines, and every celebrity gossip site.

Life was about to get pretty damn messy for Claire.

--

Sorry for taking so long to update. R&R, people.

By the way—I'm not sure what kind of charges they press in LA for underage drinking, so I'm just sort of making it how I want it to be.

Yay author's ability to manipulate characters in a story to do whatever he/she wants them to!


	3. Leavin'

Disclaimer- I don't own the Clique.

Thanks for the awesome reviews I'm getting for this!

And you're all right- poor, poor Claire.

I'm making BOCD a boarding school, by the way. It would make more sense, because the family's not moving. Just Claire is.

This will _not_ be like _Private_, though. And even though Judy's a momager, I still see her being sort of strict with Claire. Todd is awesomesaucesome.

Typing Rupert's British accent was fun XD.

--

"CLAIRE STACEY LYONS!" Claire sat, legs crossed, in the modern living room of her Bel Air estate. Her eyes were focused on her hot pink Tory Burch ballet flats, as she didn't have the guts to meet her parents' eyes.

"Do you have _any idea_ of what your father and I have sacrificed so that _you_ could have an amazing career?"

"Maybe," Claire whispered.

"Claire," her mother sighed, exasperated, "I gave up _my _dream career so that you could have yours! And what happens as a result of that? You ruin it!"

Judy put her hands in her face, sighed, and started handing her daughter copies of _People_, _OK! Magazine, Star, _and _US Weekly. _Claire's story was splashed across the front of each of the sources. She dropped the magazine in shock.

"How did they find out?" Claire exclaimed. "If Jackie tipped them off, I am going to twist her head off." She clenched her fists angrily.

"Claire, I have no idea how they found out! But it doesn't matter! You should not have been drinking, and now your reputation is ruined!" Judi paused. "So, your father and I have thought it over… and we've come up with the perfect punishment."

"Punishment?! What am I, five?"

"Claire! Do not use that tone with me!"

"Why shouldn't I?" Claire placed her skinny arms on her hips, smacking her bubble gum with a cocky half-smile on her face.

"Claire Stacey Lyons, you're leaving Hollywood!" Claire looked at her mother in disbelief. Her jaw dropped open. Hollywood was her _life._ She was not going **anywhere**.

"This is a joke, right?" Her hands were on her hips, challenging her mother to say it was the truth.

"No it is NOT, young lady! We'll talk later… now go to your room!" Claire let out a screech of rage and stormed off. She angrily stomped up the stairs into her bedroom. She passed Todd, who had been eavesdropping the whole time, and she pushed him down the stairs.

"Ow!" She heard her little brother wail, and she smirked out of satisfaction.

Claire flopped down on her bed. This. Could. Not. Be. Happening. She angrily chucked her favorite pillow at her Yorkie, Cocoa, who whined and jumped out of the way before the pillow slammed against the wall. Claire sighed inwardly and decided that her parents were just kidding around. She always got her way- always- so she could weasel her way out of this "normal school" situation if she tried.

_I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine._

_I got a love, and I know that it's all mine._

_Oh_

Claire's phone began to play Pocketful of Sunshine by Natasha Bedingfield, and she glanced at the caller ID: Rupert Mann. Claire wondered why she had ever decided on such a… _happy_ ring tone.

"Claire Lyons," she muttered into the phone.

"'Ello, Clah. We need to tahlk about the upcoming movie."

"What about it?" Claire questioned in a monotone.

"Well, dah-ling, it seems that the paparazzi gawt images of the pah-ty last night."

"I know…"

"And we cahn't tolerate that here."

"Excuse me?" Claire heard a sigh on the other end of the phone.

"Clah, you portray a good gahl, and we need someone who cahn maintain that image."

"What are you saying?"

"You're cut from the movie."

"WHAT? YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

"I'm ahfraid I cahn, sweetie. It's nothing personal, it's just that we need someone who's less of a pah-ty girl."

"Are you serious? I am_ Claire Lyons_!"

"Gotta run, Clah. Bye."

Claire dropped her phone, shocked. She needed to talk to someone. She contemplated calling Abby, but Abby wouldn't understand, because the press already knew she was a major party girl, and Abby didn't care. She thought about Jackie, but Jackie was not to be trusted. Then, she remembered her boyfriend, and pressed 2 on speed dial.

"Hullo?" Jack sounded groggy, as usual.

"Hey…"

"Oh, Claire. Listen, I've been meaning to talk. About last night."

"Jack, I was trying to get you out of the party last night, but you were so drunk you couldn't even keep up."

"Yeah, about that. I'm going to Promises (A/N: Celeb Rehab center) to clean up my act, and to start fresh."

"That's awesome! I'll miss you." Claire cooed.

"Well… Claire…"

"Yes?"

"I- Ithinkweshouldbreakup."

"What?"

"I think we should break up," Jack said.

"Wh- why?" Claire's voice cracked and she went on the verge of tears again.

"Because… I like you a lot Claire, but I can't spend every waking moment thinking about you at rehab. I need to focus on.. uh…getting better."

"You think about me a lot?" Claire smiled.

"I said that out loud?"

"Yeah, but why do we have to break up? I can help you!"

"Claire, I need to uh… _Jack, who's on the phone?_ Focus. Yeah."

"Who was that?" Claire heard giggles and a muffled _"Love you!"_ in the background.

"What? No one! Claire, listen… it's not you- it's me." Claire frowned.

"Who's the other girl, Jack?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I heard that girl in the background. And the cliché line was a dead giveaway." Jack started to sweat. How long had she known? He was toast.

"Uh…"

"You're dating Jackie, aren't you?" Claire had known how "close" the two were, and she would probably be the most likely contender as the "other woman."

"No… what… what would make you think that?"

"Listen, Jack. Your life is about to become a living hell, so I'd be thinking on my feet if I were you."

"Claire…"

"Sayonara, jerk."

"Cla-" Claire snapped her phone shut, and burst into tears. Claire never cried. She shouldn't waste her time crying over him- she should waste it getting even.

So, she came up with a wicked revenge plan. Claire tipped off every gossip magazine and every gossip website in the business, saying that Jack Weston was doing drugs, cheating on his girlfriend, and hired prostitutes daily. Then, she dialed the number of Adam Kingston, another hot Hollywood teen, and asked him to come shop with her. Who would refuse? She dragged him down to Rodeo Drive, and Claire made sure that the paparazzi got some excellent snapshots.

--CL--

Claire strutted down the polished marble stairs, 6 hours later. She had showered, redone her makeup, and she had changed into a pink Lacoste polo with a popped collar, a flirty Marc Jacobs skirt, and she had an adorable sweater vest on over the polo. She was still wearing her lucky Tory Burches. Claire was ready to work her magic.

She zoned in on her pushover father, who was sitting on a stool at an island in the kitchen, flipping through the _The Wall Street Journal_. Her mother, on the other hand, was walking around the kitchen, obviously preparing dinner for the family. Claire placed a manicured hand on the countertop, and pulled down the newspaper so that her father was looking at her.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"You were just joking around about before, right?" Claire offered up a sickly sweet smile. Her father's eyes softened, and he opened his mouth to say something… but her mom interjected.

"No we weren't, Claire." She shot a _Back-me-up_ glance at Jay, before he replied.

"Your mother is right, honey. She and I have picked out the perfect school for you. It's a boarding school, actually." Claire's eyes flashed dangerously, a sign that she was about to get very, very angry. Boarding school? Cut off from reality? _No effing way._

"What school is this?" Claire said through gritted teeth.

"We've decided on Briarwood Octavian Country Day."

"Where the hell is that?" Claire was fuming.

"Westchester, New York."

"NEW YORK? ARE YOU FUC- I mean, FLIPPING, KIDDING ME? CLAIRE LYONS DOES _NOT_ DO THE EAST COAST?"

"Well, now she does. It's a very nice school, actually."

"But _mo-om_!"

"But what? You're going, and that's final."

Claire muttered a string of obscenities under her breath before sighing and retreating to her bedroom.

"Oh, and Claire, honey?"

"Yes, mom?"

"Your flight departs at 3:00 PM."

"When?"

"Tomorrow."

--

Yup. So, it's late summer in Claireland. Read and Review, mis amigos.

I am in a Spanish mood today. Yo tengo muy feliz- I am very happy. Had to include some of the cliché mom terms, by the way. Took the lyrics from the web.


	4. The Mile High Club

Disclaimer: I don't own the Clique.

Here she comes. Oh boy. JFK is a real airport, by the way. They're all 16, I've decided. I dedicated the dorm building to Reed-- you'll see ;)

--

Claire Lyons pushed her Dior shades up the bridge of her nose, the lenses covering her piercing blue eyes. She did a quick once over of the crowded John F. Kennedy Airport. No paparazzi in sight. Perfect. Claire silently said goodbye to her private jet, wishing that she could hop on and fly all the way back to LA. She sighed, and made her way over to the baggage claim. Her Louboutins clacked against the linoleum floors, and people turned heads to see the blonde beauty coming their way.

She tried to make an escape for the bathroom, for she felt her lips drying up. And it was so _not_ classy for her to reapply in public. Claire froze, just as she was about to walk in, because she heard some 12-year-old fan girl holler out, "Hey! Isn't that Claire Lyons?" As if on cue, the bustling airport was silent. People whipped out their digital cameras, frantically taking snapshots of the star. Claire, instead of rushing away frustrated, decided to take the advice of Rupert, for once: _Live in the moment._ And so, there she stood, in the middle of the airport, posing for the cameras as she basked in the limelight that was rightfully hers.

--CL--

Claire gracefully slid out of the pearl-colored limo, carefully scanning her new environment. The soft green grass, the gentle breeze, the amber leaves, and the beautiful flowers… there was nothing to criticize. She had nothing to hate. Claire scowled, and slapped a 100 dollar bill into the gloved hand of the driver.

"Keep the change," Claire said with a bitter smile. She grabbed all 6 of her Gucci suitcases from the trunk, her abnormally large Prada handbag that resembled luggage, and she made an attempt to take it all at once.

It didn't work. Claire got about three steps before tripping over a loose stone and toppling down. Then, she looked up to see a boy. A very _cute_ boy. The boy offered a hand and Claire grabbed it. He pulled her up and Claire gave him a cocky half smile, which was the closest thing to a grin she had plastered on her face all day.

"Thanks."

"No problem." The guy ran his fingers through his floppy black hair, and shoved his other hand in his pocket.

"I'm Clai-"

"Claire Lyons?"

"Oh god," Claire moaned, "puh-lease tell me you're not a crazed fan."

"I'm not," Cam replied with a chuckle, "it's just you're pretty recognizable."

"What-" Claire's hands immediately flew to her uncovered eyes and she sighed. Her sunglasses sat on top of one of her suitcases, gleaming in the sunlight.

"Do you need some help here?" Cam said, shooting a glance at Claire's many bags.

"Um… yeah." Claire sheepishly rubbed her arm, and bent over to pick up some of her suitcases. Normally, she would've started to bitch at this random guy, but A), she wasn't in Hollywood anymore, B), this was the farthest thing from normal, and C), he was _**hot**_**.**

"Which dorm you in?" Cam asked, as he picked up 4 of Claire's suitcases.

"Um… hold on." Claire pulled a wrinkled piece of paper out of her bag and read the door name from it. "I'm in Brennan." Cam's eyes widened.

"Lucky you. Those are the best dorms, made for the richest kids here."

"Kids? Like, boys and girls?" Cam nodded.

"Yeah. It's divided- duh, but it still results in a lot of mischief." Cam waggled his eyebrows, and Claire laughed. She liked him already.

"What dorm are you in?"

"I'm in Brennan, too. So are my friends, Derrick, Plovert, Josh, and Kemp."

"Plovert is an… um, interesting name." Claire widened her eyes and shook her head. What parent in their right mind would name a kid_ Plovert_?

"It's his last name," Cam responded with an eye roll.

"Good."

They walked a few steps further, and Claire stopped as Cam pointed to a large, brick building with ivy lining the walls. She looked the building up and down, and then glanced at the other building son the campus. It was the prettiest building on the large campus, hands down, and Claire smiled to herself. This was going to be so much fun.

_Thank you, Mom and Dad. _Claire thought with a smirk. She parked herself on a bench and chatted with Cam for a while. Maybe life without Hollywood would be... ok.

--MB--

"Who," Massie sneered, "is that?"

"Who?"

"That blonde girl. The one with Cam."

Massie Block was perched on her intricate window seat, binoculars in hand. She was looking at all the new students- well, all of the new students in the Brennan dorm. They were the only ones that mattered. Massie dropped the binoculars, and whipped her head to face roommate and best friend, Alicia Rivera.

"Well?" She looked at Alicia expectantly. Alicia was the gossip girl of Briarwood Octavian Country Day, and she knew everything about everyone.

"I…" Alicia paused, searching her brain for an answer. "I don't know!" Both Massie and Alicia herself look surprised at this.

"You don't _know_? You always know!" Massie gave Alicia an incredulous look, and Alicia shrugged.

"I can't tell who it is from this far up, Mass. I mean, we're on the top floor." And that was certainly not a bad thing.

"No shit, Sherlock. Find out who it is for me. Now." Massie barked. Alicia just sighed, picked up her Ralph Lauren tote bag, and walked out the door.

Massie sighed. This new girl looked like a threat, from what Massie could see. She could see perfect blonde hair, a tan, lean body, the lime green Louboutin wedges she wanted, and a super hot outfit that would be an automatic 10. She sipped her Vanilla Bean Frappe from Starbucks, and the instant the cold liquid hit her tongue, she felt at ease. It reminded her of her puppy who was back home in New York City.

Massie whipped out her Palm Pilot, and decided to write down her thoughts in a list, like she had been doing since she was 7.

Massie Block's Current State of the Union

In/Out

The New Girl/The Old Me

Manolos/Louboutins

Vanilla Bean Frappes/Bean The Pug

--

Sorry for the short chapter.

Read and review, mis hentes.

I speak Spanglish fluently. XD


	5. What's For Breakfast?

Disclaimer: It's chapter five and I still don't own the Clique. Go figure.

Last chapter was totally a filler chapter… but I had to get the Claire-Cam friendship in there. Oh yeah and I'm not using the entrance part from the trailer because I don't feel like it and this way makes more sense. A lot of dialog, I know, but they're all meeting up ((together))for the first time.

_12:51 PM_

_Many a night at 12:51 PM, Cam Fisher and Dylan Marvil were together, away from the ridiculousness that was school. As Cam snuck out of his dorm room, he made sure to be quiet and stealthy, for getting caught meant expulsion. He appeared in the doorway of the shed, their shed, where they had arranged to meet. _

"_Hey," his husky voice sounded. No response. Cam wandered further into the shed to see Dylan, making out with another guy._

"_Dylan?" He shouted, a mixture of hurt, anger, and confusion swelling inside of him. _

"_Cam! What are you doing here?"_

"_Oh, I don't know, meeting with _my _girlfriend? Seriously, what the fuck?"_

"_I-"_

"_Holy shit, is that Hurley?" Cam recognized the insane curls that belonged to his friend and teammate, Kemp Hurley._

"_He-hey, Cam!" Kemp said nervously, running a hand through his afro/hair/whatever it was._

"_Get out!" Cam shouted and Kemp sprinted from the shed without a word. "And Dylan, how could you do this to me? We were going to get married!" He exclaimed, pointing to the promise ring on his finger._

"_I can explain," Dylan started._

"_Give me it." He held out a hand._

"_Cam…"_

"_Give me the ring, Dylan." She handed the ring over reluctantly, tears stinging her eyes._

"_We're over." And on that note, he sprinted away, not looking back._

--NF-

"Krissy! Navy or pink?" It was 7:15 AM, and today was the first official day of school. Orientations began at 8:30, and nobody wanted to be late.

"Nikki, for the last time, I DON'T CARE!" came a moan from underneath a pile of blankets and comforters.

"Fine. But should I wear my hair up or down?"

"Ugh!" An annoyed Kristen Gregory stomped out of her spacious dorm room with a large pillow and a soft pink blanket in tow. Nikki Fisher had been trying on outfits for the last hour, as Orientations was in about 1 hour and she needed to look perfect. Nikki was never one to decide beforehand, so she woke up early and had been asking for Kristen's input on everything she picked.

"Perfect!" Nikki squealed a minute later, holding up her final outfit, and a couple of seconds later, Kristen marched back in and promptly fell back asleep. Nikki let out a giggle before wiggling into her dark wash J Brand skinny jeans. She pulled a crisp white Ralph Lauren blouse out of her closet, and rapidly buttoned it up before snatching a navy and emerald argyle v-neck cardigan off a hanger and putting it on. She slipped into her quilted Chanel flats, put on her diamond studs, grabbed her Tiffany's charm bracelet and Marc Jacobs tote, and marched out the door.

"Krissy," she called, "I'm meeting Cammie for breakfast, so feel free to join us!"

Nikki slammed the door shut behind her, and took her own sweet time walking to the dining hall.

"Nikki, this is Claire," Cam said once Nikki had arrived at the dining hall.

"Claire, this is my sister, Nikki."

"You look so much alike," Claire said in awe. Both of the Fishers had jet-black hair, Nikki's in perfectly sculpted layers and Cam's with the shaggy skater look. They were both skinny, toned, and had stunning green eyes, except Cam had a lovely blue one, too.

"We know," they said in unison, before Nikki gasped.

"Cam, what's wrong?"

"Dylan Fucking Marvil cheated on him," Nikki whispered, "and I am going to murder the woman."

"She's Cam's, um, ex-girlfriend?"

"Yeah. And daughter of Merri-Lee Marvil."

"Her mother is so annoying," Claire said with an eye roll before another person arrived at the large table.

"Hey, Fishies." Derrick Harrington dropped his tray down on the table and sliding in between Nikki and Cam, much to their chagrin. He ruffled Cam's hair and outstretched his arms towards Nikki.

"Nikkums!"

"Derry!" Nikki said with faux-enthusiasm.

"You know, Nikki," Derrick said in a prissy voice, "that was, like, so lame." He looked over at Cam, who was being abnormally quiet.

"Fishy number one, what's wrong with you? And why is the famous Claire Lyons sitting at our table?"

"Dylan cheated on him," Nikki supplied, "and if you haven't seen the last 6 issues of _Star_-"

"Gee thanks, Nikki." Claire said sharply with pursed lips.

"Sorry, but anyways, she's attending Brioct this year." Many of the students insisted on abbreviating the school's extremely long name, and Nikki was indeed one of them.

"In that case," Derrick picked up his tray and moved to sit next to Claire, "hi, I'm Derrick. And dude, I always told you she was a bitch." Derrick wasn't exactly what you'd call_ sympathetic._

"Good morning!" Alicia Rivera and Josh Hotz sang as they arrived at the table.

"Are you guys twins too?" Claire said incredulously.

"No, we're 1st cousins. My dad," Josh said, "is Alicia's mom's brother."

"Ah. So we're explaining the Rivera-Hotz family reunion again?" Josh shot daggers at Chris Plovert as he sat down, chuckling to himself.

"Who's the new girl?" He pointedly said to Alicia, who knew everything and anything that went on around "Brioct".

"Claire Lyons," Cam said with an eye roll.

"What's up, Cammie?"

"Dylan cheated on him." Claire supplied. The entire table gasped.

"Gee Claire, could you be anymore subtle?" Cam replied, causing an awkward silence around the table until Kristen arrived.

"Krissy!" Nikki squealed.

"NIKKI, SHUT UP!" Kristen screeched.

"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Derrick grumbled.

"Morning," chirped a voice. Everyone turned around to see a thin brunette, her amber eyes scanning the table for all her closest friends until they landed on an unwelcome guest.

"And who is this?" On the outside, Massie looked composed and cool, but on the inside, she was fuming as she pieced together what was happening. This new girl, who was cool, funny, friendly, pretty, _everything_- was Claire Lyons?

"Claire. Lyons, that is. But I'm sure you already knew that." Claire decided that now would be a good time to figure out if Massie had a short temper or if she was like Abby- cool as a cucumber.

"Claire, are you a female dog?" Not an Abby.

"No, but I think you might be." Claire added a wink at the end, causing the table to crack up in hysterics. Massie wanted to slap the girl, but a sudden distraction arrived at the table. "Kidding, Massie." Claire said with a reassuring smile before her sky blue eyes met a pair of nervous green ones.

"Excuse me," Alicia said, "why are you here?"

"To eat breakfast?" Dylan Marvil squeaked.

"I'm shocked you even have the guts to show up here," Kristen pointed out.

"Yeah, and, oh, I'm sorry, we don't allow _sluts_ at this table." Alicia's voice was sickly sweet- it was quiet scary, actually.

"Then why are you here?" Dylan snapped.

"I'm not the one that cheated on her future husband, am I?" Dylan's face grew to match the color of her hair.

"I don't need you." Dylan spat.

"Good!" The whole table chorused, minus a depressed Cam and a confused Massie.

"What happened?" Massie whispered to Kristen.

"She cheated on Cam." Massie's e/yes widened. She cleared her voice.

"Now that she's gone, how should we dispose of her?" Massie folded her hands and stared at everyone from the head of the table.

"She needs a dose of complete public humiliation," Nikki noted.

"Definitely," Massie agreed.

"But," Alicia said, "not just slipping on a banana peel. This needs to be big."

"It will be so bad, so scandalous, that it will go down in Brioct history." Kristen completed.

"So," Massie motioned to the others at the table. "We can simply have her die a social death, we can set her up to be expelled, or maybe a bit lighter punishment, or, we can snoop."

"Snooping is always the best, because you find everything." Alicia said with a mysterious glint in her eye.

"All in favor of social death?" No hands were raised.

"A punishment much too light for the deed at hand." Josh looked at Dylan, who was sitting with Kemp. Neither looked very happy.

"Set up?" Derrick, Kristen, Josh and Plovert raised their hands.

"Idiots! If we get caught doing that, we get in major trouble. If we get caught snooping by Dylan, we get the wrath of Dylan, which isn't bad, because we can totally crush her."

"Snooping it is! Now, who can snoop for us?"  
"I'm her roommate," Claire said.

"Putting new girl in charge of a revenge plan? Puh-lease," Massie scoffed.

"But 'new girl' over here was just involved in a Hollywood scandal, Britney Spears was her next door neighbor, and she has more paparazzi than friends. And that's saying something." Claire said, looking Massie in the eye.

"Mass, I think we should let her do it." Alicia concluded. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Fine."

"So, what's for breakfast?"

--

It's, like, 2 AM but I'm not sure because my computer hates me and won't tell me the time and I'm tired and-

Review?


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